Warriors readers ask more questions about the team's post-season run

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Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives the ball in the lane against Houston Rockets center Clint Capela (15) during the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game at Toyota Center on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Houston. (Brett Coomer/Houston Chronicle)

HOUSTON — Just like the Warriors, their fans appear more worried about the playoffs than the regular season.

That seems understandable. That is what happens when you cheer for a team that has won three NBA championships in the past four years. That is what happens when you cheer for a team that has Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green and DeMarcus Cousins.

The Warriors (46-21) are trying their best not to look too far ahead. After all, they have a challenging game against the Oklahoma City Thunder (42-27) on Saturday, which may serve as a preview of either the Western Conference semifinals or Western Conference finals. Dubs fans can look ahead, though. So let’s dive into the mailbag and answer some of those questions.

First, some housekeeping items. I captured how the Warriors beat the Rockets on Wednesday without Kevin Durant. One of the primary reasons involved DeMarcus Cousins having a breakout game. All of which gave the Warriors some bragging rights after the Rockets had some light-hearted trash talk to open the game. As always, Curry and Thompson also had bragging rights after achieving yet another shooting milestone.

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It’s a sign of a few things. A. Lee played fewer minutes against Houston because coach Steve Kerr started Andre Iguodala at small forward while Durant stayed sidelined with a right ankle contusion. B. That changed the bench rotation. Amid the team’s ongoing adjustment with integrating DeMarcus Cousins, Kerr staggered Green and Cousins while having two playmakers (Quinn Cook, Shaun Livingston) and one off-ball shooter (Klay Thompson). C. Kerr went with Alfonzo McKinnie more in hopes to groom him to become a defensive wing presence should the Warriors and Rockets meet in the playoffs. D. This is all subject to change depending on matchups. E. Outside of the Warriors’ five’ All-Stars and two established vets (Iguodala, Livingston), the other players will all play fewer minutes once the postseason starts. F. I suspect Lee to get some more minutes in future games since they will evaluate whether to sign him to a playoff roster spot. He is with the team for the remainder of the regular season since he has a two-way contract. But if the Warriors want to keep Lee for the postseason, they would have to waive someone since the Andrew Bogut signing puts them at a league-maximum 15 roster spot. The possible candidates include McKinnie, Cook, Jonas Jerebko, or Jordan Bell since all of them will be free agents next summer.

I think it’s an ongoing work in progress. The Warriors have continuously tinkered with the balance on how much they feature Cousins versus lean on a combination of Curry, Thompson and Durant. Against the Rockets, the Warriors went toward Cousins more for three reasons. 1. They wanted to jumpstart Cousins’ game amid the recent criticism about his fit thus far. 2. Without Durant, Cousins seemed to be the natural fit to fill in at the post. 3. The Warriors wanted to slow down the pace against the Rockets to reduce the number of possessions (and likely 3’s) they will take. Going through DeMarcus helps with reaching that goal. Still, this will change game to game because the Warriors want to be flexible with matchups, riding the hot hand, etc.

Does Steve plan on continuing to work through the post with KD and Boogie in the playoffs they haven’t really shown too much of it should we expect heavy dosage of it come playoff time?

I think you will see a good dosage of that in the postseason. You will see Durant and Cousins operate in the post, but in different ways. They will feature Durant in the post in isolation situations and when Steph and Klay are facing double teams. You will see Cousins in the post as facilitator with the starting lineup and the primary scorer with a staggered second unit. They will likely use these strategies to get both players’ going and to slow the pace down. But the Warriors know they have Klay and Steph too. They will move the ball a lot and look to get them looks from 3. They are kind of good at shooting from there.